In the days following our return from Egypt, a great deal occurred both here
and in the future. This scroll deals with the setting up of the new Amazon governing
structure, more new faces, and old friends returning to serve in new roles.

Chapter 1 (The village)

The early mornings in the summer provided a refreshing time to reflect on events.
The night air still hung heavily. The morning dew left a silvery sheen on the
grass, leaving it cool to the touch. Only the faintest traces of pinks and yellows
could be seen in the eastern sky. The insects still whistled their sing-song
calls in the forest.

Varia sat on the steps outside of her hut, pondering all of these things. Not
long before, she had been the queen of this place. But, that was before she
had committed a series of miscalculations and listened to the wrong people and
misinterpreted her instincts. As a result of the disaster at Helicon, she was
stripped of her rank and very nearly her life. Only with the intervention of
Xena and Gabrielle was she able to maintain any dignity at all around the other
Amazons. Even after being included in the coronation ceremonies and the governing
council, she was still perplexed by her successor's mercy.

"No, that seems to be in short supply these days," her friend stated. "I've
got a lot on my mind."

"You mean you're still beating yourself up over the incidents with Ares and
Helicon. Get over it. Look, Varia, you had your heart in the right place on
both counts. I may not agree with your actions especially toward Eve and Gabrielle,
but your intentions were good," the Warrior Princess assured.

"Really? You think everyone's forgiven me? I don't know if I can forgive myself,"
Varia sighed.

"Give it time," the warrior interjected. "You have already started redeeming
yourself. Anybody could have hung her head and quit. You, however, played a
key role right away and keep doing so. Redemption is not an overnight process,
trust me."

"I guess you would know," the other agreed. "And how are you doing these days?"

"I'm okay. Just getting used to this being settled down stuff, I guess," Xena
replied.

"Yeah, I guess it would be tough with as much traveling as you and Gabrielle
did over these last few years to settle down. But, having a home is nice," the
Amazon noted.

"That it is," Xena agreed. "Still..."

"You wish that Eve were here, don't you?"

The Thracian warrior glanced over at her acquaintance. "It's that obvious, huh?"

"Everyone who's been a mother would understand, Xena. Besides, after seeing
the change that Eve has undergone, I can see why you would be proud of her."

"I am proud," Xena beamed. "She's out preaching and standing up for her beliefs.
While I may not like the fact that she always seems to be in harm's way, I can't
stop her from doing so."

"Well, as long as she's taking villages with words and not the sword," Varia
shrugged.

"Right," the warrior agreed. "Well, looks like the sun's rising. We have a big
day in the council so maybe we ought to get some breakfast?"

"Sounds good," the Amazon concurred, following her friend back toward the middle
of the village

*********

Three hours later, Gabrielle sat cross-legged on a hide mat, studying a scroll
of law codes. Unlike her stories which she enjoyed, these pieces were tedious
as Tartarus to drudge through. But, if she was going to guide the Amazons to
a new golden age, the Queen decided that she had to do it. After all, she needed
to learn all of these things very quickly in order to lead effectively. "What
would Francesca say right now? She and David have a term for this activity.
What is it?"

"That's what I told her. But, it does seem like everyone's giving her a legitimate
chance," the Warrior Princess observed.

"And if I have anything to say about it, that will continue," the bard-queen
agreed. Picking up the scroll again, she asked, changing the subject, "Xena,
do you think there's any chance of Eve coming back here?"

The warrior bit her lip and shook her head, "Unless Eli himself intervenes,
I would say no. She's pretty set in her ministry."

"I thought as much myself. When the three of us rode up here, I hoped that she
would have stayed and taken her role as the Amazon princess," the queen commented.

"Believe me, you know how much I wish she were here. But, Gabrielle, she still
has work to do in the world. You were a princess for how many years before we
came back here for good?" Xena indicated.

"Thirty years," the bard agreed.

"Right. We still had our roles to play in the world. I'm just asking to let
Eve play hers. Okay?" her councilor continued.

"Sure. Just like us, right?" Gabrielle smiled. "You had better hope that the
Council agrees with you, Xena. I have to have an heir and since I gave her the
rite of caste, she is it."

"You know I'll defend Eve's rights," the warrior firmly stated.

"And I don't think any of the Amazons would oppose you. I just want to make
sure there's an orderly succession from here on out is all. Now, come, we're
needed at the meeting," the bard-queen concluded, walking out of the hut.

Xena looked up at the hut's ceiling. Where there seemed to be peace, now a certain
measure of controversy stirred anew and Eve was at its center. "Eli, take care
of my daughter please," she requested before hurrying to join her colleagues
at the meeting.

Chapter 2

The Amazon council anxiously awaited their queen. In the three months since
her return, several accords had been sealed with surrounding peoples and the
tribes had indeed moved toward becoming a single nation. All in all, the new
reign had begun auspiciously well. Now, the little questions remained...such
as Eve's status, but as they had waited for Gabrielle's arrival, the same could
be done for her caste-recipient as well. However, the resident mystic, Nai-Jin,
had seen dark visions during her meditations. This was something which could
not be ignored.

As Xena and Gabrielle entered the room, the other leaders stood and welcomed
them solemnly.

"As always, you have my thanks," the bard-queen smiled to her colleagues. "Memosia,
you summoned us together. What can we do for you?"

The African leader stood and smiled, "Thank you, Queen Gabrielle. It has to
do with the unsettling visions."

"Visions?" Gabrielle asked. "Whose visions?"

"Those of Nai-Jin," the other replied, sweeping her hand toward the Oriental
mystic.

"Might I be recognized, my Queen?" the mystic inquired.

Gabrielle bit her lip. During their adventure in Egypt, Yakut and Amarice had
warned of an imminent invasion. But, it wasn't supposed to happen this soon!
"I thought it was supposed to be three years from now," she thought. Glancing
at her chief counsel, her eyes asked for advice.

Xena, for her part, knew the value of prophecy. Over the years, she had seen
many such premonitions come true-too many for her liking. Between Alti, Yakut,
Lao Ma, and David Dubois, several such occurrences had happened. Hopefully,
this one wouldn't be so bad. "I say we hear her out," she replied.

The queen nodded and turned toward the Asian Amazon again. "Please tell us what
you saw, Nai-Jin," she requested.

The other nodded and recounted, "It was brutal, my Queen. The peace will be
shattered by a series of battles both here and elsewhere. One confrontation
has passed between the forces of light and darkness. I see an oasis in the desert
with...great structures...some of stone and some of wood. What could this place
be?"

"It is a place of learning far across the sea," Gabrielle revealed. "Alti and
her allies sparked that conflict."

"Is this true, Xena?" Cyanne, the queen of the northern Amazons asked.

"Yeah. After the conflict, our friend, David Dubois, was challenged to a duel
sometime in the future. Did you see anything?" the Warrior Princess asked.

The mystic nodded, "Is he the dark haired one with the extreme fire within?"

"That's him all right," the warrior agreed. "Please continue."

"The battle will occur. I saw a luminous being handing him a dagger of some
sort. The confrontation was brutal. Both sides were injured..." the mystic continued.

"This 'luminous being' can you describe him?" Gabrielle probed.

"He was dressed in white with blonde hair, a regal bearing, and wings of some
sort. What manner of demon would that be?" Nai-Jin noted.

"That would be an archangel," the high queen stated. "I think it has to be Michael.
Anyhow, please continue."

"The two adversaries met in a place of cobblestones not far from here. One dies.
The other is thrown into a place...of fiery torment. The suffering is intense.
There are familiar enemies for him to engage and with each victory comes a greater
cost for the world," the seeress continued.

"What is the cause of the conflict?" Memosia interjected.

"A wrong committed by an immortal years before. I can't make out the details
yet I sensed that it is tied to Xena and Gabrielle," she commented.

"A wrong connected to us?" the bard-queen gasped. "What could we have done to
him?"

"Maybe it's not us personally, Gabrielle. Maybe, it's someone that we have fought
as well," Xena postulated. "Dijon maybe?"

"Dijon?" Cyanne wondered. "Who?"

"A vampire of the worst kind," Gabrielle explained. "He is one of a special
order who enforces his kind's secrecy."

"I've killed several of his kind already," Xena added. "But, this one is the
chief Enforcer and apparently is responsible for the death of several innocent
people."

"Including a priestess of Althanor," the seeress realized.

"What?" Gabrielle jumped to her feet. "But Cybelle is alive!"

"No, not the woman in green. There is another. She was joined with a man from
the West, and there she died. Her name was...Sam...Samuelsohn?"

"Pauline Samuelsohn," Xena affirmed.

"That's right," the prophetess nodded.

"How?" Gabrielle asked.

"Angela told me about it. At least as much as anyone has been able to piece
together. Apparently, Pauline and her husband helped to stabilize David during
his learning. Dijon murdered her just before he and David faced each other for
the first time. It was on that night that the Child surfaced," the warrior explained.

"The inner fire," the mystic agreed. "Yes."

"So, what else happens?" Varia urged.

"He progresses through the underworld with a guide whom I can't see clearly.
He will return here...with another soul. However, in the process, he will unleash
great turmoil upon the world. Darkness will erupt, forcing us to join with our
allies both old and new to defeat it. There will be a single battle involving
your friend and a woman, long thought dead, in which our village will be destroyed.
There the vision ends," the visionary concluded. "Two more things. Seek out
Althanor and ask for assistance. An alliance between us will be necessary. And
the heiress must return," Nai-Jin concluded.

Gabrielle took a deep breath and pondered this report for a long minute. Certainly,
David's rages had the potential to be viciously destructive. In one battle,
a town's center had been badly damaged. Would he have the lack of foresight
to cause such destruction? Only time would tell. In addition, it was clear from
the last part that Eve had to come back to help them survive the conflict. "This
is very serious," she noted. "Thank you for sharing your insight, Nai-Jin. I
open the floor for discussion."

"We have to prevent your friend from facing this Dijon," Cyanne stated.

"He's only a man. Certainly, he can't cause the damage she talked about on his
own," Varia scoffed.

Xena chuckled darkly.

"What's so funny, Xena?" the former queen demanded. "This is a serious matter.
We may have to kill him."

"That's enough!" Gabrielle interrupted.

"No, it's okay," Xena frowned. "Varia, you have no idea what you're talking
about. Murdering him will accomplish zilch. If Michael's involved, then he's
gonna prey on David's anger toward Dijon. Besides, by killing the priestess,
Dijon set these forces in motion himself."

"And, whether it's her friend or someone else, the battle will take place. It
has been foretold and there is nothing that we can do," Nai-Jin added.

"Then," Cyanne stated. "We must prepare for the worst. Queen Gabrielle, Xena,
will you be there?"

"Meantime, I think Cyanne is right," Gabrielle pointed out. "Each of you might
wish to start preparing your tribes for a possible conflict. Let us pray that
it doesn't come to pass, but in case it does, we should be ready. I think that's
all for now." With that, she rose from her place and left the room.

Xena stood silently for a minute. Her icy blue eyes studied each of her companions
and saw the concern and fear. Gabrielle had been right to dismiss the council
for now, allowing everyone to think on these matters. Certainly, she had a great
deal to consider herself. "Best to talk with her later on these things," she
mused and walked out of the room, leaving the others to ponder the future for
themselves.

Chapter 3 [Althanor]

Within the mists, the realm of Althanor lay silent and serene. For the most
part, everyone was going about their business as always. Herb lore was recited
by the young priestess trainees. Chores were performed routinely. In short,
it seemed like any other day.

However, within her hut, the high priestess sat anxiously, trying to deal with
the news she had just received from the worlds beyond. According to Cybelle,
the herbs she had sent to her brother had helped to defeat Alti. Yet, there
was another crisis to deal with: the upcoming battle between David Dubois and
the vampire, Bertrand du Dijon. How she wished it could be prevented, but as
the fiery pool had revealed it, she knew that Fate would bring the two antagonists
together at one point or another. Certainly, the battle had been ordained since
the latter's murder of the priestess, Pauline, some years before. Perhaps, there
might be some good to this mess after all.

Cybelle sat off to one side, observing her superior carefully. The news of the
battle had brought a troubled silence to the venerable priestess, and the younger
woman was concerned about what would happen next. "Mother? Are you all right?"
she inquired nervously.

"What is it?" the younger priestess pushed. "The battle is behind us. That challenge
can't be that serious, can it?"

"It is," the high priestess indicated. "Tell me....what do you know about the
death of Tony and Pauline Samuelsohn?"

Cybelle shot her a perplexed look and wondered, "I know he was one of Dave's
professors and they were really close. I'm sorry to say that I never met her."

The priestess snickered, "You did, Child. You just don't remember it. Do you
recall the night of your initiation? How much do you remember of your sponsor?"

The younger woman scratched her head and shrugged, "Not too much I'm afraid.
I remember she was so kind to me all of that day and then, after the initiation,
she disappeared." Then it dawned on her. "That was Pauline?"

"It was she. On the next day, she left to be married as per the Great Mother's
wishes. Tony Samuelsohn was an ally of ours in the world outside and kept the
Old Ways in a positive manner at least in academic circles. He received her
lessons in the lore of Althanor as did another young man. I gave her leave to
console that man and instruct him in the traditional knowledge. She did so and
he seemed to improve in so many ways," the mentor continued. "At least until
that awful night."

"What do you mean? What happened to them?" Cybelle insisted.

"I...I cannot find the words. Let the mists reveal what I cannot," the teacher
noted, waving her hands. The fog formed in a far corner of the room. "Go into
the past, Cybelle. Don't worry, they will not be able to see you."

The younger priestess bit her lip. As much as she didn't want to go, she had
no choice. She had to find out what happened. "I'll be back," she acknowledged.

"The goddess help you, Child, and enable you to bear that which lies on the
other side," the elderly woman hoped.

************

[Cambridge, MA-1988]

Cybelle stepped out of the cloudbank into a familiar suburban neighborhood of
the late 1980s. The night was warm with a mass of clouds forming in the northwest.
"This is Cambridge," she realized. "But, what am I doing here?" The name on
the mailbox gave her the answer to that question. "This is the Samuelsohns'
house. I know something happened here, but what's going on?" she wondered aloud.
The air was negatively charged as if something was about to happen.

Then, an awful scream shattered the silence. "Tony! Help me!" a woman begged
with her last breath.

Cybelle winced and grit her teeth as the spasms of pain coursed through her
head and down her spine. For a minute, she felt as if all of her blood was being
sucked away. Then, there was no feeling at all. "Pauline," she realized. "She's
gone." The priestess bowed her head in memory of her fallen sister, wishing
that there was something she could have done.

Then, she heard the pained yelling of a man: Tony Samuelsohn. Something had
broken into that house and was torturing the poor professor.

"What in Althanor?" she probed, running up the walk and through the open doorway.
There, she encountered a room full of strewn debris, torn-up tapestries, mangled
books, and desk drawers thrown every which way. Sticking her head in the front
room, she found Samuelsohn being attacked by three powerful men or what seemed
like men. A scan of the figures' auras told her who they were. "Vampires! But
what would bring a Caribbean, a European, and an Oriental together like this?"

The European, a French or German man by appearance, stood tall and was a mountain
of a man. Leaning over, he stated to his victim. "You should have left well-enough
alone. Now, you'll die." Before he could strike the killing blow, he sensed
something. "Wu Han! Deal with it!"

The Oriental bowed and flew through the broken remains of the picture window.

She felt a familiar twinge through her senses and realized, "Dave! He's here?
What is he doing?" Seeing that she couldn't do any further good in there, she
rushed back outside. There she saw the Asian vampire beating on her brother.

"Stop it! You don't want to do that!" she screamed, knowing what was about to
happen.

For a split second, the attacker paused and glanced around as if he felt her
presence. But, not finding anything, smacked the younger man again.

Through the bruises and swelling, she saw the now familiar glint in the left
eye. But this time, he was growling with short rasping breaths. "Free! I'm free
at last!" Climbing to his feet, the enraged man let loose a howl which would
have intimidated the banshees themselves and blasted his former attacker across
the lawn into the house. "Oh, I wish my father were watching right now. Whatever
should I do with you?"

She puzzled, "Why would he wish for Dad now? They never..." Her eyes bulged
as she realized his dark intent.

Telekinetically, lifting two of the wooden shards, he impaled the Oriental man.
Worse still, Dave seemed to enjoy this act. Leaving him there, he stalked into
the house and disappeared from view.

Cybelle stole up to the disintegrating corpse and shuddered as the implications
of the scene in front of her became clear. Dave's moods were unpredictable especially
when he was agitated. Both of their parents had been really hard on him. As
a result, periodic lapses had occurred from time to time. But, she sensed something
totally different this time. The darkness inside of him had finally accomplished
what everyone feared it would: it had coalesced into a separate personality
capable of mass destruction.

Then, from within the house, she felt another burst of dark energy and the reduction
of the immortals' auras by one more. "Dave 2, Vampires 0," she sighed and ran
back in the house. The Caribbean vampire leaned against the banister of the
staircase, a stake rammed through his chest. Hurrying into the study, she saw
the leader facing Dave. The latter flung the immortal against the fireplace,
setting the vampire's arm on fire.

The vampire tore the sleeve from his shirt and tensed to attack. But, as he
did so, police sirens alerted both combatants to the approaching authorities.
"This isn't over!" he hissed and disappeared into the night.

Dave frantically scoured the room, throwing as many antique tomes and scrolls
out onto the lawn as he could. Finally, seeing that the flames had claimed the
rest, he managed to drag both of the victims from the house.

Cybelle floated to her brother's side. A tear creased her left cheek. How she
wished she could have comforted him at that moment as he leaned over the bodies
of his mentor and his wife. At that moment, the skies opened up and a full-fledged
thunderstorm raged.

"Dijon! This isn't over!" he vowed to the tempest. Then, as if sensing something,
he raised his hands to the night and fired two mental bolts.

In response, the storm reeled off a pair of lightning strikes.

The two forces impacted, canceling each other out.

Shuddering, the priestess retreated back to the tree. This was the beginning
of the conflict to come. Noting the police's arrival, she stepped back through
the mist and returned to Althanor.

*********

When the mists had cleared, she was back in the high priestess' hut.

"Now you have seen. Now you understand what has happened and what must happen
next," the mentor stated.

"I...I have," the shaken Cybelle agreed. "They must face each other again and
I cannot do anything about it. I wish I could be there."

"You will be. Pauline was to be my successor. When she died, that right passed
to her sponsored one. You are now the next in line, Cybelle, and your time is
coming. Soon, I will pass from this life and the fate of everything will be
in your hands," the elderly teacher revealed.

"But, I have my husband and son. Mother, you...you can't be serious," she gaped
in shock.

"The world depends upon you, Child. Althanor and the Amazons. Our peoples must
unite. By now, Gabrielle has taken the throne as their queen. It is up to you
two to forge a peace from which the world will rebloom after the conflict to
come," the old woman coughed.

"And who will be my heir. When will I meet her?" Cybelle pressed. "I have no
daughter of my own."

"Help me to bed please," the ancient one requested.

Cybelle assisted her teacher over to the simple cot and lowered her into it.
Making sure that the latter was resting comfortably, the young woman felt as
if a heavy weight had been placed on her shoulders.

From her sleep, the high priestess muttered, "It will be the youngest daughter
of your brother's house."

"Deirdre?" the other asked.

The sleeping form nodded and then, turned away from her student.

Cybelle stepped outside of the hut. While the sun was shining and everything
seemed to be normal on the outside, her world had just been turned upside down
and, for some reason, she sensed that things would only get worse before they
improved for her and her friends and family.